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Local News
Local banking team
buys BOQ Byron Bay
LOCAL banking team David Th omson and Matthew
Irwin have taken a brave step and have purchased
their own bank branch.
Th e pair have worked together locally in banking for
four years and have now bought the Bank of Queensland
(BOQ) Byron Bay branch. David and Matthew
are now operating the branch as owner-managers.
Matthew, a Byron Bay local, said it was the service
and community focus which attracted him to the
Bank’s Owner Managed Branch model.
‘Having grown up in the local area, I have seen fi rst
hand how Byron and the surrounding townships have
grown and developed in to a really unique community,’
he said. ‘I think we off er the best of both worlds,
because we have a laid-back approach to life that is
very attractive to tourists, but we’ve also retained our
community values. It’s a fi ne line and I think most local
tourism operators are to be commended for their
balanced approach.
Matthew said it was not just tourism that kept Byron
Bay alive. He said it was the small business operators,
across a wide range of industries, that give Byron the
character and spirit that made the town so popular.
‘David and I can off er local business operators a really
unique service, because not only can we off er them
fi nance, but as business owners ourselves we really
appreciate the challenges and opportunities specifi c
to running a small business,’ he said.
‘It gives us a really unique perspective in terms of
working with small business operators to help them
grow their business.’
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Matt
0477 660 112
David agreed, saying the Byron Bay business community
had come a long way since he fi rst moved to
the area six years ago.
‘I’ve seen real changes in the local area and believe
that Matt and I can off er Byron business operators
a combination of personal service, support and
business fi nance that our competitors can’t match,’
he said. And of course it’s not just businesses we
can help. We will off er personal customers BOQ’s
competitive product range, but with the personal
service that comes from owning our own branch and
running our own business.
‘At the end of the day, if our customers aren’t happy,
they’ll take their business elsewhere and, as every
small business operator knows, no business can
survive without customers.
‘So we will go above and beyond to make sure our
customers are not just happy, but are actually referral
sources for our branch.’
Matthew and David are both active in the local community,
with rugby and cricket being two of their
passions. ‘We both believe that the Byron community
off ers something unique in terms of community spirit
and a sense of working together,’ David said.
‘We have something great to off er the local community
and we know the community gets behind locals
to get in and give it their best shot, so we’re confi dent
that our BOQ branch will continue to grow and succeed.
So drop in and see us at the branch.
We’d be more than happy to sit down and have a chat, and
talk about how we can best meet your banking needs.’
NEW
OWNER-MANAGERS
David
0413 824 930
Open for your convenience
9.00am – 4.30pm Mon–Wed
9.00am – 7.00pm Thursday
9.00am – 5.00pm Friday
9.00am – 12 noon Saturday
Shop 6, 21–25 Fletcher St, Byron Bay
Ph: (02) 6639 7600 | www.boq.com.au
Celebrating human rights, Byron style
Story & photo Harsha Prabhu
The rain did not prevent the
faithful from gathering in Railway
Park in Byron Bay to celebrate
Human Rights Day on
Saturday December 10.
A highlight of the day was
the completion of the dolphin
dreaming painting on the door
of the Byron Environment
Centre by Arakwal-Bundjalung
artist Annette Harding.
The dolphin is the totem of
the Arakwal women.
Organisers set up stalls with
info on human rights issues
and collected signatures for petitions,
including against coal-
seam gas mining and against
the building of the Belo Monte
dam in Brazil.
Local activist Liliana Coredor
explained how human
rights went hand in hand with
environmental rights and the
rights of indigenous people.
The Belo Monte dam was
going to inundate an area the
size of Tasmania and destroy
the lives of over 50,000 indigenous
people and put at risk
their culture.
‘The Amazon belongs to all
people and we should protect
it from destruction’ was her
message.’
Jonathan Parsons has been announced
as the new Byron Bay
Writers’ Festival (BBWF) director
for 2012.
If you are looking for some
interesting reading between
now and the festival, Jonathan’s
CV is a good place to start.
He started out as artistic director
of the Sydney Gay and
Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival
from 1996 to 2000 and was recently
artistic advisor for the
AWESOME Festival (Perth’s
leading youth contemporary
arts festival).
Between these two gigs
Jonathan has been director
of public programs at the
Queensland State Library
(2007–2009), during which
time he managed more than
110 events and oversaw the
Other speakers on the
day included Gabriel Bohnet
on housing in Byron Bay,
Margeaux Marshall on human
rights and the work of Amnesty
International, Michael Balderstone
from the Nimbin HEMP
Embassy on Nimbin’s drug war
experience, James Moylan from
Southern Cross Uni’s student
union on civil rights, and John
Lazarus from the Byron Environment
Centre.
Many speakers suggested
that the corporate forces that
were busy destroying the environment
were the very ones
that the global ‘Occupy’ movement
was fighting: the big
banks and mining companies.
Maggi Luke, long-time Byron
resident, spoke on Byron’s
recent experience of being
doubling of participation
numbers.
He was one of seven international
associates who developed
the 2008 London International
Festival of Theatre program,
and from 2002 to 2007 he was
the festival director for Bris-
‘occupied’ by the police, with
sniffer dogs, riot squad and
mounted police inundating the
town for schoolies week.
Several speakers opined that
with a 73 per cent error rate
the use of sniffer dogs by the
police seemed at best a publicity
stunt, at worst simple
harassment of people, rather
than a serious crime prevention
strategy.
As one speaker noted, ‘The
police are here to serve the
public and not the other way
around’.
A huge line-up of talented
local artists kept the crowds
entertained and ended with a
jam session that featured Simon
‘Fyah Walk’ Jerems, Shai Shriki
and the lads from Allensworth
visiting from LA.
New Writers’ Festival director appointed
bane’s Riverfestival – the city’s
major annual community cultural
and environment festival.
Jonathan was quick to acknowledge
the importance of
the Byron community, and
especially the members of the
Northern Rivers Writers’ Centre,
as being crucial to the success
of the BBWF.
‘Having worked on a range
of festivals and events I know
that the core support of members
and the community is vital
to the success of any major
event, so I’m very much looking
forward to developing and
delivering a festival that our
members can be proud of and
the local community would be
happy to stand behind.’
The BBWF will run from
August 3 to 5, 2012.
10 December 13, 2011 The Byron Shire Echo www.echo.net.au